Some of the last daffodils in bud. I took this the other day; they're probably open by now, or just about. I have loved their glorious show this year, all the gold of early springtime --- I miss it when it fades away, though of course I'm also ready for what comes next: the azaleas and dogwoods.
This old dogwood is just about dead. The entire crown of the tree is, anyway. The husband, who pruned it back in the fall, said that it's hollow inside, so it's not long for this world. Still, here's the little bit of it that is still alive, opening its buds.
The redbuds have entered into their glory, meanwhile:
And the bridal-wreath spireas are coming into leaf:
They leaf out first, then produce their showers of white bloom sometime in April. Some years we have a daffodil Easter; this year maybe we'll have a spirea Easter. Whatever is blooming, that's what I put on the table and mantel.
Up today:
*hair washing
*dog walking
*finishing this stupid essay if it melts my entire cerebral cortex in the process
*maybe actually doing some of the other work I have lined up --- wouldn't that be a novelty?
*helping the Artgirl with whatever she needs to do before she takes to the road tomorrow in the new and restored Tess the Chaos Wagon. We are still waiting for these windshield people . . .
It's a cooler day today, cloudy right now, though we may get some sun later. Or maybe some rain.
I've sent in my 9x9 Challenge photo album, hoping that I have understood and followed the rules correctly. They're usually pretty fast in responding with the gift-certificate code, which I will then save. Aside from the fact that a no-buy is one of my Lenten penances, the one thing I think I really want won't be available until April or May, which is perfect timing. Not that I really need another dress, but I think I'd like to try the Sofia again, in this shade of green. If I'm going to spend significant money on something, I'd like for it to be a significant thing, and I have been thinking for some time that I really should have tried sizing down, when it didn't work for me before, in the spring of 2023. Then, I ordered a medium, which turned out to be too weirdly big in the bodice --- the fit of the armholes was especially weird.
At the time, I didn't think the skirt in a Small would fit me, but then I promptly traded that dress (a Medium Sofia in Cobalt Blue, a color I wish they still carried) for a Brooklyn in Small, and the cut of the skirt is basically the same. I have also lost an inch, at least, around my belly and hips --- I haven't actually lost all that much weight, but walking a lot and lifting a little have steadily paid off in small ways. I've worn several dresses now in Small, and I have this Sierra in XS, so I think I should try a size down in this dress that I think would be a good addition. The fabric is a little heavier than the fabric in either the swing dresses or the fit-and-flare ones that I already own, so even though it's sleeveless it would be good for layering in cold weather.
Anyway, I think when the time comes I will try that again.
Meanwhile, as I think I mentioned, I have decided to resell my purple jeans as a no-go --- they really are too big. I'm also mulling whether or not to keep the Levis I bought. I like them, but they give me a wedgie, and I don't know whether I'm really going to dump enough pounds/inches to make them fit better. They're flattering, but not really that comfortable, even over repeated wears. The only trousers I've bought that I really like are the pink wide-leg ones, which I think I will keep for now . . . although I find myself just gravitating toward, and really more comfortable in, dresses of various kinds.
It's worth noting that these three pairs of trousers --- one too big (and only getting looser with wear), one on the edge of too small, and one just right --- are all technically the same size. They are all labeled "Size 12." Not that I didn't know perfectly well that these numbers mean nothing standard whatsoever. From brand to brand, style to style, the numbers are just . . . there, because they have to slap a number on. They say nothing about what size you, the consumer, actually are. What matters are inches: how many and where. That's how you determine fit. It's good to have a tape measure handy when considering an item of clothing, because otherwise you have no idea whether or not "Size Whatever" is going to correspond to your body in any expected way.
So . . . yeah, I want to love the lavender jeans, and I do like the wide-leg thing generally, but these are just too much fabric. I hate buying and reselling in a revolving-door pattern, because that can become its own special kind of overconsumption, but sometimes it just happens that way. If I want to experiment, there's always the risk that something won't work for me the way I hope. Otherwise, I just have to stay in a lane --- and I really don't want to restrict myself from trying new things occasionally. The thing is just to price something to sell and wait till it does. I spent $13 on those lavender jeans, so I'll probably price them at $10, to expedite their journey into the hands of someone who will wear and enjoy them.
This will open up at least one slot in my roster of ten secondhand buys for the year --- two if I decide to resell the Levis. Again, I'm not going to do anything about it for the time being, because no buy, but it would be good to have that possibility in hand. I'd love, actually, to acquire some more linen tanks like the Bay tops I bought last month . . . those are just so fantastic. We shall see.
Enough overthinking all that. Time to wash my hair and get dressed and on with the day.
Wearing (trying various selfie spots and silly poses):
*Secondhand Wool& Sierra (S) in Washed Navy, bought fall 2024, last worn February 15 (so very due for an outing). Wears in 2025: at least 6. There might be one other time I'm wearing this dress under another dress and it doesn't show. Let's just say 6, though.
*Very Old Thrifted cotton Eddie Bauer cardigan. I'm going to say I've been wearing this for 10 years. I think that is not inaccurate. Normally this cardigan is my Lenten staple, the thing that ensures that I'm wearing purple, no matter what else I'm wearing. Funny that it's taken me two full weeks of Lent to put it on.
*Secondhand Allbirds tencel-merino leggings, second year of wear
*Secondhand Birkenstock Mayaris, first year of wear
Clean hair, just shampoo and conditioner bar, no stylers, diffused 3/4 dry.
When I was thinking about neutral-colored dresses, I forgot all about this one. The grayed navy has an almost purple cast, which seems highlighted by the addition of the plummy purple cardigan. Note how different the fit is, a size up from my Iris Blue Sierra dress:
The XS can still pull a little in places, though it's relaxed enough in the two-plus months I've been wearing it (constantly) that the fit is pretty decent. This fabric really does settle in and respond to the warmth of your body in ways that others seem not to. I could wish that the design were truly and deliberately more fitted, so that just a little closer cut through the waist and hips would not mean a little too small, really through the bodice and shoulders. This much sizing down works all right for me, because my shoulders are relatively narrow, but it's only just all right.
Anyway, you might think these were two different styles --- related, but not meant to be the same. I do like each one of them on its own merits. This dress I'm wearing today is very comfy (not that the other one isn't), and because it came to me used, in definitely used condition (hole that I mended, some slight discoloration across the front, some pilling) I don't mind knocking around in it and roughing it up. Now that I'm finished with my 9x9 challenge, I will be choosing this dress to garden in, for example.
Already the armholes have stretched a good bit in this dress --- I noticed that when I put it on this morning. I'm glad I wear bralettes that don't look like underwear, because if I took my cardigan off, the one I'm wearing today would definitely show. That's one point to the XS dress --- it'll take a lot longer for that level of stretch to occur. As much as I love these dresses, that feature does give me pause. My other Wool& dresses do not stretch this much. I have several sleeveless styles, and they don't gape at the armholes the way the Sierra does. I've noticed this to some degree in every one I've owned (and again, my original Small Long Sierra is a midi-length tent at this stage), and it makes me hesitate to consider ever adding another one (although of course so far I have added more of these).
Well, I can't complain about this dress, because it came to me at an incredibly cheap secondhand price, and I knew what I was getting. And here I am, wearing it. I don't know that I'd buy anything new in Washed Navy, because it's honestly a bit blah, but it does mix well with other colors. I like this dress a lot as a pinafore over a base-layer tee. It makes a good backdrop for my trusty old plum cotton cardigan, that longtime Lenten staple. And it's fine for a day when I just need to get work done and would like to feel I was wearing pajamas all day, without actually wearing pajamas all day.
Also --- and this is instructive --- I find this kind of outfit FAR more comfortable than jeans. No contest. Whether this means I simply don't need jeans, I'm not sure yet. But I'm pretty sure I don't need as many pairs of jeans as I have, especially since I've got all these dresses to wear.
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
I have walked the dog, hung some hand laundry, put some dishes in the dishwasher, and made the executive decision, after some hours of continuing to wrangle with John Donne, to let him sit for a while and switch in Robert Frost for tomorrow. I hope that's okay with my colleague, because it's done. Forgiveness easier than permission, &c. But I have been having a total brain bleed over this Donne poem, and the essay I've written (almost but not quite finished) is very long, so I think it's time for a break. Frost is up and ready to go, and that's that.
Now I need to think about what's for supper. Tomorrow I will do other things that have needed doing, but my goodness, I am fried today. I can't remember a more difficult essay. At least it is mostly done, and I can work with it when I haven't looked at it in a while. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.